A PLAN to build a new supermarket in the city was set to be approved this week but has been now hit with a delay because of the coronavirus.

Budget supermarket Lidl plans to open a new store at the JVM Castings Site off Droitwich Road and a decision was expected to be made by Worcester City Council’s planning committee on Thursday (March 19) but the meeting has now been called off.

The city council has made the decision to cancel all of its meetings for the next two weeks so it does its bit to stop the spread of the virus.

The council’s planning officers had recommended Lidl’s plan should be approved but the cancellation of the meeting will mean a decision is not made until the committee next meets - which, at the moment, is most likely to be in April.

If approved, the latest plan in Droitwich Road would be the city’s third Lidl supermarket.

The plans for another supermarket were formally put forward by Ashfield Land and JVM Castings in November last year.

As part of the plans, the casting specialists would demolish a small underused part of the factory and move its staff car park to the side to make way for the new supermarket.

A 112-space car park including six disabled bays and eight parent and child spaces would also be built.

A total of 40 full and part time jobs would be created, according to plans.

The new Lidl supermarket could be one of several major plans due to be built in the area in the next couple of years.

A new multi-million pound state-of-the-art hockey centre is set to be built on land off Droitwich Road opposite Worcester Garden Centre.

A plan for a new care home on the old city park and ride site will also be decided by councillors in the next few months.

A decision on whether to grant retrospective permission for a small part of Worcester Muslim Cemetery in John Comyn Drive off Droitwich Road is still to be made. If the permission is granted it would then pave the way for a huge 785-plot three-part expansion including a new pavilion and a peace garden as well as a new building at its entrance.

The plan has been hit with a lengthy delay because of pollution concerns raised by the Environment Agency.